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Indispensable
Carole Boyce Davies delivers a stunner in Left of Karl Marx, a deft and thorough analytical treatment of the political life of Claudia Jones, "Black Woman Communist of West Indian Descent."Neither Pan-Africanism nor Black Women's Studies can begin to do without this book, not to mention a host of other fields and constituencies.It brilliantly performs the task of resurrection made intellectually necessary when the status-quo takes such important figures away from us and then tries to erase their memory, to boot.

We should not be forced to think and struggle in ignorance of Claudia Jones, and now we certainly don't have to with such a powerful and impressive study.

Critically, Boyce Davies treats not just the politics of diaspora, but deportation as well;not just "political" activism, but cultural activism (such as Carnival) as well;not just bookish intellectual production, only, but polemics, speeches and journalism (in the spirit of Ida B. Wells) as well;not just "women's rights" or "worker's rights" or the rights of colonized peoples, but all of the aforementioned and then some.Perhaps most crucially, she recovers the "radical Black female subject" in a fashion that immediately calls for pretenders to the titles of "radical," "Black," etc.," to walk the walk talked and walked by Claudia Vera Cumberbatch Jones.

carole boyce davies--the radical black subject rocking intellectual life
This is what intellectual life is all about...Carole Boyce Davies *rocks* our understanding of the left, black feminism, transnationalism, and more. Boyce Davies carefully re-narrates the life of black communist, activist-intellectual Claudia Jones--identifying Jones' political and creative struggles as a black woman who *radically* hopes for, strategizes, thinks through, a *just* future and was thus consequently rendered a punishable, deportable, subject...

These women, these ideas--Carole Boyce Davies, Claudia Jones, Left of Karl Marx--are what intellectual life is all about.Inspiring and challenging...

katherine mckittrick ... Read more

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First published in 1978, this book rapidly established itself as a classic of modern Marxism. Cohen's masterful application of advanced philosophical techniques in an uncompromising defense of historical materialism commanded widespread admiration. In the ensuing twenty years, the book has served as a flagship of a powerful intellectual movement--analytical Marxism. In this expanded edition, Cohen offers his own account of the history, and the further promise, of analytical Marxism. He also expresses reservations about traditional historical materialism, in the light of which he reconstructs the theory, and he studies the implications for historical materialism of the demise of the Soviet Union. ... Read more

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Classic defense of the economic determinist interpretation
Cohen's classic book is a defense of the Second International thesis that the productive forces (roughly technology and labor power) are the "motive forces" of history.In the first version of the book this idea, widely disputed among Marxists, was intended to show that socialism was the necessary culmination of a history of increasing development of the productive forces.This is a difficult thesis to maintain today, and indeed in more recent work, some of which is embodied in the second edition of the book, Cohen retracts it, suggesting only that the development of the productive forces makes socialism possible. (Subsequently he seems to have backpedaled even on this.) The implications of the weakening of historical materialism (along with a sharp critique of Cohen's original view, one that he now largely accepts) were offered by Wright, Levine, and Sober in their Reconstructing Marxism, an essential companion piece to Cohen's book. They essentially involve taking apart the optimistic claims that Marxism offers an integrated scientifically based program of social change that inspires optimism about progress towards socialism.Cohen's main thesis, as an interpretation of Marx and as a _defense_ of Marx, seems much less plausible than, for example, the alternative "class struggle" interpretations of historical materialism urged, for example, by Robert Brenner or (formerly) Richard Miller in his Analyzing Marx.

Nonetheless, Cohen's book remains a model of clarity, depth, and ruthlessly honest exposition that shows up the places where it runs into problems. It contains must that is salvageable, not least an interpretation of what it is for the economic to be "primary" in terms of a theory of functional explanation, on which the ideological superstructure and the state are explained in part in terms of their functionality for the economic base, and revolutionary social change due to "fettering" of the productive forces understood in terms of dysfunctionality. People who like their Marx fuzzy and obscure enough to avoid intelligible criticism (Althusserians, for example) have never liked this book, but if Marxism _as a theory_ has a future in the wake of collapse of the Marxism _as a movement_, Cohen here set the standard for what that theory should look like in procedure and rigor if not necessarily in its substanative claims. Serious study of Marx's theory of history starts here.

The starting point for all critics of Marx
This book has some virtues, in terms of clarity of exposition, but as a reading of Marx it leaves a lot to be desired.Like Jon Elster's attempts of making (non)sense of Marx that followed it, this text reads into Marx a set of assumptions taken for granted within neoclassical economics but entirely foreign to Marx's work.If you want to see how Marx and Marxism measure up to the unquestionable and seemingly unthinkable criteria of bourgeois thought, read this.But if you want to understand Marx, read Althusser.'For Marx' is a good place to start, but be sure to read the essays collected in 'The Humanist Controversy' and 'Philosophy and the Spontaneous Philosophy of the Scientists' too, not to mention 'Reading Capital' and 'Machiavelli and Us' ... Cohen may be easier to read, but only because Cohen doesn't challenge any of the ideology of capitalism that is as invisible to most people as water is to the fish that swim in it.

A Strong Defense
In the Base-Superstructure debate that has been raging for a while, and still is, within modern Marxism, GA Cohen's Defense of Karl Marx's Theory of History is one of the more powerful blows struck and deserves to be read.

Cohen is a supporter of "the primary of productive forces" (the word primacy here being used to avoid the label of being a determinist or vulgar marxist) and argues to uphold the base-superstructure metaphor which Marx set forth in the 1859 preface to the Contribution to Political Economy. In a nutshell, the metaphor basically said that the base of all society is the economic structure, where everything else (legal and political institutions, for example) rise as a superstructure on this base. The implication is that the most influential thing in society is indeed our economic system. The further implication here, and surely what Marx was trying to say, is that capitalism is the defining aspect of everything and essentially the primarily determining entity in society.

GA Cohen upholds this metaphor by first scouring the 1859 preface, then other Marx works and finally arguing for the legitimacy of the "primary of productive forces" himself. His arguments are concise and powerful. If you are a serious student of Marxism, the read is basically mandatory and helps break the illusion that there is really one theory of Marxism and thats it. Cohen's interpertation of Marx tends to be the one that most people identify Marx with themselves and also tends to paint Marxism as cold and determinist (despite his attempts to keep away from the dreaded title).

However, if you are going to read this, be sure to read Althusser, Williams and Lukacs. These are the other three major points on the debate and reading them will give you a rounded perspective on the entire thing. I tend not to agree with Cohen (though that doesn't show in my rating) and think that if you read a lot of Marx, you can see he himself differing from Cohen. The famous 11th statement in his Thesis of Feurbach sums it all up:

"The philosophers have only interperted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it."

Cohen's views on the economic base's primacy doesn't leave much room for this statement to be anything other than a hollow statement. ... Read more

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A classic of early modernism, Capital combines vivid historical detail with economic analysis to produce a bitter denunciation of mid-Victorian capitalist society. It has proved to be the most influential work in twentieth-century social science; Marx did for social science what Darwin had done for biology. This is the only abridged edition to take into account the whole of Capital. It offers virtually all of Volume 1, which Marx himself published in 1867; excerpts from a new translation of "The Result of the Immediate Process Production"; and a selection of key chapters from Volume 3, which Engels published in 1895. ... Read more

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If you havent had an Economics course
may I suggest the Penguin version....this is the original transcript, and, if you don't speak French or German, you will find yourself reaching for a translator. A member of my family teaches Economics and says that the Penguin version is a much easier read to comprehend, as Marx is a little difficult for some of us anyway. But, the genius cannot be hidden. ... Read more

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A brief, clear, and faithful exposition of Marx's major premises, with particular attention to historical context.

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The Very Best For Beginners Text, Next To Marx For Beginners
Marxism is a theory of revolution, a method of analysis struggling to grasp why things are as they are in order to understand not only what must be, but what might be. Today in the US, and perhaps elsewhere, even the Communist Manifesto can be daunting for beginners. While I do not share the author's view, at the end of the day, this is nevertheless one of two texts that I have found that assists people in coming to grips with Marx's project and, importantly, helps them understand who they are in relation to others and, then, what they might do. The other text, Marx For Beginners, is also especially inviting. Of course, the presence of a social movement for equality and justice would be more helpful still! Absent that, abstraction. ... Read more

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The best comprehensive guide to Marx's thought
Callinicos has produced here what is probably the best comprehensive introductory guide to Marx's thought. It manages to be both sophisticated yet clear. Concise yet extensive. The book provides a short biographic sketch of Marx, followed by a historical sketch of the political and philosophical climate he was working in. It includes a very clearly articulated and well argued account of Marx's methodology and categories then relates this to Marx's conceptions of historical development, political economy and his socialist political project. It concludes with a positive contemporary evaluation of Marx's legacy and an appeal for a broader acceptance of his vision. What stands out about this book is the remarkably nuanced and non-reductive interpretation it gives of historical materialism. This goes against both the versions of Marx's thought presented by the abominable totalitarian regimes that purported to rule in his name and those presented by many of his critics on the left and right. By successfully showing that Marx's philosophy isn't the rigid and reductive economic determinism it is so often presented to be, Callinicos gives new life to the ideas of one of modern history's greatest minds.
... Read more

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Karl Marx explains Marx's views from a philosophical standpoint and defends Marx against common misunderstandings and criticisms of his views. This new edition includes a new chapter on exploitation and a substantial new preface. ... Read more

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Not for the faint hearted!
Wood delves deep into Marxist thought in an effort to find the truth of Marx's thought. Marx is defended by Wood from many common, and more commonly erroneous, interpretations of Marxist thought that has surfaced in the many years since Marx's thoughts became influential.
"Karl Marx" is a very well structured book, with the structure revolving around five major topics of Marx's work; alienation, historical materialism, Marx's thought on morality, philosophical materialism and the dialectical method.
As one of the most respected works on Marx's philosophical thought, you expect an in-depth, concise and authoritative book, and this is exactly what you get.
This book is very heavy in the philosophical content, if you haven't read much of Marx, then you will probably get bogged down in this advanced work, so there are probably easier-to-follow books out there to start on.

Overall this is a remarkable book, advanced and authoritative, it should be a prerequisite for anyone interested in a proper understanding of Marxism.

Philosopher or Not
Wood's review of Marx's theories is best summed up by the question of whether the German philosopher was just that. Certainly he obtained a doctorate in the field, but Wood contends that Marx was a commentator on the settings of the society in which he lived. Though the text is verbose at times, it is a good review of Marx's material in light of this unusual thesis. It examines in detail the early theory of alienation, though it considers the idea too vague to be of much use as it was originally composed. Commenting on Marx's other theories, Wood introduces once again his idea that Marx had no moral compuncture, contrary to commonly-held opinion. The difference between moral and non-moral lies in its ability to be quantified, nothing else. Ideas such as these pervade the text, cauing the reader to address his own perceptions of Marx. Not for the unitiated or shallow of mind. ... Read more

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The basic texts of Marxist socialism. Preface gives an easy-to-understand introduction to Marxist philosophy. Includes the complete texts of "The Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844", "The Communist Manifesto", "Wage Labor and Capital", and "Critique of the Gotha Program". ... Read more

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In this selection of the political writings of Karl Marx that predate the Communist Manifesto, excerpts from the "Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right," "Points on the State and Bourgeois Society" and other writings are newly translated and arranged in a sequence that illuminates the development of his thought, while the introduction discusses the intellectual context of his theories. This volume will be an invaluable guide to the formation of one of the most influential doctrines in the history of political thought. ... Read more

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worth studying
I have been reading books on the ideas of the young Marx for a few years, and I am glad that this collection was made in a manner that will allow those who appreciate the way a thinker derives ideas from considering first religion, then philosophy, then political economy, in order to come up with ideas about the essential nature of any ideology for a particular social system to reconstruct the context in which Marx came up with many basic ideas. Material that was translated into English as manuscripts in 1932 is identified in this book as "From the Paris Notebooks (1844)." Much of the material in this book was not published during Marx's lifetime, but Marx spent years compiling notebooks on matters that he was studying. Among his conclusions about having and using things, I tend to agree with "Private property has made us so stupid and narrow-minded, . . ." (p. 82). ... Read more

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First published over fifty years ago, Isaiah Berlin's compelling portrait of the father of modern Communism has long been considered a classic of modern scholarship and the best short account written of Marx's life and thought. It provides a penetrating, lucid, and comprehensive introduction to Marx as theorist of the socialist revolution, illuminating his personality and ideas, and concentrating on those which have historically formed the central core of Marxism as a theory and practice. In turn, Berlin presents an account of Marx's life as one of the most influential and incendiary social philosophers of the nineteenth century and depicts the social and political atmosphere in which Marx wrote.

This edition includes a new introduction by Alan Ryan which traces the place of Berlin's Marx from its pre-World War II publication to the present, and elucidates why Berlin's portrait, in the midst of voluminous writings about Marx, remains a classic account of the personal and political side of this monumental figure. ... Read more

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Karl Marx - the Hegelian Idealist in Denial
Marx's theory of history and society is a `wide and comprehensive doctrine which derives its structure and basic concepts from Hegel and the Young Hegelians, its dynamic principles from Saint-Simon, its belief in the primacy of matter from Feuerbach, and its view of the proletariat from the French communist tradition.'

Berlin remarked that Hegel's importance lies in the scholarship of social and historical studies.Pushing back the claim that only the scientific method can prove the science of society, Hegel asserted that such radical empiricism fails to account for the individual character in a specific moment in time of history.History undergoes `major transitions in the past marked by large-scale revolutionary leap.'Calling this process dialectical, he theorized that `each age inherits something new from its predecessors so change is plainly not repetitive.'This progressive movement is towards what Hegel called, the Spirit, the highest level of self-consciousness in relation to the universe.

The origins of Marx's eventual theory can be traced to other theorists.Feuerbach believed that `all ideologies whether religious or secular are often an attempt to provide ideal compensation for real miseries.'Marx deemed `all institutions, churches, economic systems, forms of government, moral codes and culture' as illusory, abstract distractions that promotes `collective self-deceptions' and encourages alienation, `the substitution of imaginary relations between, or worship of, inanimate objects or ideas for real relations between, or respect for, persons.'

From Saint-Simon, Marx adopted and elaborated the theory of class struggle.In formulating `his view of the evolution and correct analysis of industrial society,' Marx learned from Louis Blanc's organization of labor.Marx's analysis on the nature of the class struggle - the irreconcilability between the classes of exploiter and exploited, the `propertyless proletariat being the lowest rung of the social scale' - derives in part from Weitling's theory that `only the ruined and the outcasts can be relied on to carry through the revolution to its conclusion, since others will inevitably stop short when their own interests are threatened.'

Berlin's thesis emphasized Hegel's influence on Marx.In The German Ideology, Marx accepted and applied Hegel's framework and recognized that `the history of humanity is a single, non-repetitive process, which obeys discoverable laws.'While Hegel considered `the nation a stage in the development of world spirit,' Marx attributed `the system of economic relations that govern society.'Both Hegel and Marx treated history as a phenomenology and `the vision of history as a battlefield of incarnate ideas.'Hegel's concepts and structures are pervasive in Marx's doctrines.

Marx's inflexible position on revolution can be derived from his strict observance of determinism, letting him see the world in terms of black and white.An individual's class identification is preordained by the position on the socio-economic map - one will do what is necessary to protect and secure private interests respective to the material situation.Hence, he opposed the moralizing of Grun and Hess since `men's acts were in the end determined by their moral character'; the outcome of the French Revolution exposed a vacuity of moral goodness in men.After 1848, Marx retreated from the opportunism of a bourgeois-proletariat alignment in order to `preserve the purity of the party, and its freedom from any compromising entanglement.'Retracting from the Communist Manifesto after the Paris Commune, Marx later advocated `the destruction of the state root and branch, not merely to seize it,' and thereby picked up a new moniker - `the Red terrorist doctor.'

Without foreseeing a state redress, Marx's Das Kapital portends `the fusion of rival firms in a ceaseless process of ruthless competitions' and that `machinery does not indeed increase profits, relatively or absolutely, but eliminates inefficient competitors.'At the end of the amalgamation process, only the largest and most powerful groups are left tin existence.'He predicted that `Big Businesses will destroy laissez fair and individualism.'Berlin attributed `the application of Marxist cannons of interpretation for forming the scientific study of historically evolving economic relations, and of their bearing on other aspects of the lives of communities and individuals.'

Berlin's narrative also sketched the human side of Marx, his camaraderie with Engel, his hostilities and suspicions towards his contemporaries and his love for his wife and children.The most interesting is the delineation of his ideological development influenced by his ego and unrelenting character.

From everyone according to his ability, to everyone according to his need
Isaiah Berlin's impressive biography of Marx gives the reader a perfect view of Marx's philosophical, social and political ideas and writings. He also gives in depth comments on people who influenced him profoundly or opposed him harshly.

Influences
Marx drew heavily on Hegel (the dialectical process), Feuerbach (religious and secular ideologies provide ideal compensations for real miseries), Sismondi (the welfare State) and Saint-Simon (economic relationships are the determining factor in history).

Opponents
He was opposed by Bakunin (anti-State anarchism), Fourier (distrust of all central authority), Lassalle (State-planned economy controlled by a military aristocracy) and Proudhon (`moral' approach to social problems).

Vision
Marx had a fundamental positive vision on man: `all men are rational by nature'. But the individual doesn't hold the means for his happiness in his own hands, because his acts are not determined by his moral character, but by the socio-economic situation he lives in. This situation was capitalism, where a small privileged class laid its hands on the major part of the proceeds generated by the working class. This `colossal fraud' was veiled by the ruling class through their ideology which blocked the spread of reason that would open the eyes of the proletariat.
However, for Marx, history has its own laws of social development (like continued concentration of all the wealth in fewer and fewer hands), which are independent of man's will and consciousness. The ruling classes are doomed and a new free society will be created.

Works
`Theses on Feuerbach': man eats before he reasons. Man is not amenable to rational arguments and will not voluntarily give up the power acquired by birth, wealth or ability to create a more just society. Man's acts are the product of his economic environment.
`Communist Manifest': the abolition of private property through nationalizations is the only way to a classless society.
`Inaugural Address of the International': the emancipation of the working class is the great end of every political movement.
`Das Kapital': there is only one class which produces more wealth than it consumes. This residue is appropriated by other men simply by virtue of their strategic position as the possessors of the means of production.
`German Ideology' (Historical Materialism): the laws of history indicate an irreversible gradual freeing of man.

I. Berlin's criticism
There was no falling profit rate or decline in the general living standard. Marx underestimated the power of nationalism. And ultimately, Marx has always claimed that `ideas' could not determine the course of history. His own ideas proved the contrary.

For more fundamental criticism of Marx's theories I recommend K. Popper (The Open Society) and M. Djilas (The New Class).
Hegel's dialectic has been torpedoed by B. Russell. The theory that man doesn't understand his situation is not exact. In Marx's times, man simply didn't have the (political, social) power or the (moral) strength to change his fate. Marx's vision of man (e.g., the proletariat) was far too optimistic, see D. Morris, K. Lorenz. More, Marx didn't consider the influence of demographic explosions, technological advances or social developments (trade-unionism).

Isaiah Berlin's formidable analysis of Marx is a fascinating read.

Interesting philosophy, but little biographical details
Because of the way my brain is wired, I take a lot more interest in the historical than I do in the philosophical. Even though Marx spent a good chunk of his life sequestered away in the reading room of the London Library, I still find the narrative details of his life fascinating: his banishment from one country to another, his participation in the 1848 revolutions, the numerous petty squabbles he had with other 19th century revolutionaries, his involvement in the politics of the International, and his last great fight against Bakunin.

It's always a struggle to find a good biography that focuses on the historical instead of on the philosophical. And after reading Isaiah Berlin's take on Marx's life, I am beginning to appreciate how good the biography by Francis Wheen was that I read this past summer.

Isaiah Berlin does a good job of summarizing Marx's life in under 300 pages, but most of the book lingers on Marx's philosophical development, with whole long chapters devoted to topics such as "The Young Hegelians" and "Historical Materialism." I would have preferred more emphasis on the narrative sections, but when reading a biography of a philosopher, I suppose it is hard to get away from the philosophy.

One thing Berlin does which I thought was very interesting was that he emphasized the paradoxes in Marx's legend. For example Marx lived during the age of romantic revolutions in which popular revolutionary figures like Herzen, Mazzini, Blanqui, and Lassalle commanded almost religious like followings. Marx spent most of his life in obscurity in the London library, and yet today his name is still known by almost everyone on the planet. Marx's central thesis, that historical material conditions and not ideas influence history, has been undercut by its very success.

Or how the German and Austrian communists, who followed Marx's advice about organizing from the bottom up, were eventually overwhelmed by the fascists, where as the Bolsheviks, who committed the most un-Marxist act of a revolutionary coup, was the first (and for a time the only) successful Marxist revolution.

Bakunin, as seems to be the case with any biography vaguely sympathetic towards Marx, comes off a bit badly here. I suppose that's to be expected. (When I was in my big anarchist phase at College, I used to read biography's about Bakunin in which Marx came off badly.)

There is no denying that Bakunin had his flaws. Anyone who has read any piece of analysis by Bakunin knows he didn't have the brilliance of Marx's pinky. He was a romantic without a clear ideology, and he didn't share Marx's horror for Revolutions that went off half-cocked with no chance of succeeding. And, as every biography of Marx makes clear, he was an anti-Semite.

And yet, he was right (well, not about the anti-Semite part). But history has shown all of Bakunin's criticisms of Marx to be true. And, to his credit, Isaiah Berlin does include some of Bakunin's extended quotations:
"We believe power corrupts those who wield it as much as those who are forced to obey it. Under its influence, some become greedy and ambitious tyrants, exploiting society in their own interest, or in that of their class, while others are turned into abject slaves. Intellectuals, positivists, doctrinaires, all those who put science before life...defend the idea of the state and its authority as being the only possible salvation of society-quite logically, since from their false premises that thought comes before life, that only abstract theory can form the starting-point of social practice...they draw the inevitable conclusion that since such theoretical knowledge is at present possessed by very few, these few must be put in control of social life, not only to inspire, but to direct all popular movements, and that no sooner is the revolution over than a new social organization must be at once be set up; not a free association of popular bodies...working in accordance with the needs and instincts of the people but a centralized dictatorial power concentrated in the hands of this academic minority, as if they really expressed the popular will....The difference between such revolutionary dictatorship and the modern State is only one of external trappings. In substance both are a tyranny of the minority over the majority in the name of the people-in the name of the stupidity of the many and the superior wisdom of the few-and so they are equally reactionary, devising to secure political and economic privilege to the ruling minority, and the...enslavement of the masses, to destroy the present order only to erect their own rigid dictatorship on its ruins."

Berlin gives a surprisingly hostile account of the Paris Commune, which he appears to have based completely off the Bourgesious press. And he also advances the interesting idea that Marx actually opposed the Paris Commune because it was more along the lines of Bakunin's revolutionary ideology, but once it was clear the Commune was going to fall, Marx embraced it for the cynical reasons of the desire to link his name with the most infamous revolution in Europe at the time. Berlin is the first writer I have come across who claims this, and well it certainly is not an impossible conclusion, it would be nice if he gave some more evidence for it.

Not quite best autobiography but worth reading
David McLellan's Karl Marx: A Biography is a better standard biography. McLellan had access to much more material about Marx's life than did Berlin and he brings it all together in a satisifying package.

Berlin's book, however, provides a superb discussion of the philosophical background to Marx's work. Because of that Berlin's book is extremely valuable.

Readers of Berlin's book must be aware that his interpretation of Marx's social theory is colored by Berlin's anti-communist beliefs. Although many today reject that a close tie existed between Marx's social theory and the USSR, Berlin assumed that such a link existed when he looked at things in the late 1930s. As a result, a tone of worry and concern suffuses Berlin's discussion of many of Marx's ideas and Berlin tends to paint Marx as more of a potential authoritarian than did later biographers.

Despite that, Berlin's book is well worth a read.

A classic account of Marx
Rereading the fourth edition of this classic short intellectual biography of Marx, one finds it as interesting as on the first occasion, and the result is a crisp portrait of one of the most misunderstood figures of philosphical history. Marx lived in what was not only a rapidly changing social environment,but one in which the social ideologies of modernity where themselves undergoing shifts of paradigm. From the electric world of the now almost unimaginable period of the Hegelian tide, via Feuerbach and the Left Hegelians, we pass to the age of post-Comptean positivism, and the post-Darwinian world view. This divide is reflected in Marx's philosophic development itself, one of the reasons he is almost never properly understood. Berlin's deft account proceeds through this obscurities with a sure touch. ... Read more

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The fourth volume of Hal Draper's series: Critique of Other Socialisms
Hal Draper's extremely long and expansive series "Karl Marx's Theory of Revolution" is definitely the highest point achieved so far in systematic exegesis of the work of Marx (and Engels). Totalling five volumes, a total of almost 3000 pages, Draper has provided the most clear, thorough and readable full overview of the entirety of the political thought of Marx. As a former Trotskyist involved with the Schachtmanites, Draper could be suspected of having a controversial editorial line, but in practice this is only very mildly the case, and he is generally very strict and accurate in sticking to the clear meaning of Marx himself. This is in particular made possible by the great care Draper takes to provide the historical and intellectual context for Marx' statements on the respective issues, so that it is always clear what Marx intended with his sometimes cryptic or diplomatically phrased letters, notes, and so forth.

The fourth volume of Draper's immense series (the plan is to finally have six published) deals with Marx's critique of other socialisms, and is dedicated to the uprising in 1989 against the government of the self-declared Chinese Communist Party. As is familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of 19th century history of ideas, there were an enormous amount of different groups, sects and movements throughout Europe calling themselves socialist or communist in that period, and many of them hated each other and saw themselves as the only right ones. Additionally, there were many people who wanted to help workers from a philanthropic or reformist point of view, yet had little interest in any revolution or even change in property relations. Marx & Engels had to deal with manyt of these movements and their representatives in the course of their lives, and often polemicized against the ones they felt were sabotaging their efforts or the development of the class struggle.

Hal Draper's overview of these movements and the fight(s) Marx and Engels had with them is truly excellent and highly informative. He engages subsequently the Lassalleans, the Bismarck style 'state socialism' (quite different from what later would be called by that name), the utopian socialists, the Proudhonists, the fake anarchist gangster band of Bakunin, reactionary anti-capitalism (this is an especially good chapter), and finally the idea of a charismatic leader solving social problems by means of coup d'état, in the form of the Boulangiste movement. In each case Draper carefully explains the ideas of these movements, their historical context and which social groups they represented (if any), their limitations, and the issue Marx and Engels took with them.

It is important to note in this context, as the author also does, that while Marx & Engels never shied away from fiercely polemicizing against their opponents within and without the working class movement, they also set up all organizations they ever were member of or ran in as 'broad tent' a manner as possible: the International, the ideal example for most working class movements internationally even today (such that even the reformist social-democrats still go through the motions of pretending to have one), purposely allowed Proudhonists to take part as well as other anarchists AND left-wing reformists. Even a group of followers of Auguste Comte was permitted entry. Within this organization Marx and Engels agitated for their own points of view, but they absolutely rejected all sectarian approaches of expelling or excluding members with different views for that reason alone: as long as one adhered to the formal rules of the organization, using internal democratic methods, any person or group declaring their agreement with the aims of the International could be a member, and each could agitate for their own viewpoint. This is the method later known as "democratic centralism", only history has shown it to be more cliquish and centralist than democratic when applied by sectarian splinter groups as well as 'orthodox' parties of all kinds. Such sectarianism was alien to Marx & Engels' approach, and they argued against it whenever they found it, as the examples of Hyndman's SDF and Plekhanov showed.

Draper's explanation of the complicated relations between the 'Marxists' (avant la lettre) and the Lassalleans as well as the Bakuninists is particularly well taken, and should be a standard for all future writers of Marx biographies or histories, though there is little hope that the author's intensive archive digging will avail much against the common mythology of the Mean Marx against the Freedom-Loving Bakuninists and so on. Also very important are the specific examples of so-called 'state socialism' familiar to Marx & Engels in the 19th century: not just Bismarck, but also the Cultuurstelsel of the Dutch in Java, various Tory attempts at regulations, and so on. The way they responded to such 'socialist' measures from on high is informative as a guide to further action. Draper's distinct sarcastic sense of humor also shines through well in this volume.

As always, Draper's excellent series should not be seen as an invitation to treat the thoughts of Marx and Engels as Holy Writ or as a canon of dogma from which no deviation is possible and upon which nobody can improve. Instead, it should be used as the most expansive existing reliable analysis of Marx's & Engels' thought as such, allowing us to see both where they were right and where they were wrong, and allowing their brilliant minds to inspire us, that we may improve upon their work and understand our own times better. Although Hal Draper did not live to see his series finished, he has done us all a great favor with this life's work.

Draper is the expert
It's difficult to understand Marx's politics today. Not because there's anything so complicated about them. To the contrary, Marx's political views are remarkably straightforward and sensible, once stripped of 150 years of obfuscation. Draper's project is exigetical, restoring Marx's writings and practice to their original historical and political contexts, explaining them clearly and consistently. In the process he skewers any number of academic or ideological obscurantists, inventing the term "falsifiction" for the worst of them. This volume makes clear that the origins of Stalinism lie in the pre-Marxist ideologies of social revolution which Marx and Engels themselves opposed through their entire lives, particularly those of Lassalle and Bakunin. Not an easy read: detailed and small-printed. But fascinating and often very funny. ... Read more

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Written during the winter of 1857-8, the "Grundrisse" was considered by Marx to be the first scientific elaboration of communist theory. A collection of seven notebooks on capital and money, it both develops the arguments outlined in the Communist Manifesto (1848) and explores the themes and theses that were to dominate his great later work "Capital". Here, for the first time, Marx set out his own version of Hegel's dialectics and developed his mature views on labour, surplus value and profit, offering many fresh insights into alienation, automation and the dangers of capitalist society. Yet while the theories in "Grundrisse" make it a vital precursor to "Capital", it also provides invaluable descriptions of Marx's wider-ranging philosophy, making it a unique insight into his beliefs and hopes for the foundation of a communist state. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The Only True Marxist Primer for Understanding ' Das Kapital'.
This economic political classic sets the stage for Marx' masterpiece ,'Das Kapital'.It presents the Marxist view of economic labor theory and other radical issues concerning the public socialization of capitalistic economies.After reading this interesting monetary classic,I felt as if socialism can only compliment capitalism and never completely replace it.There needs to be a constant flux of balance between the two systems.During the days of the Industrial Revolution,the shift and focus was on absolute capitalism,unrestrained by indifferent royalists.After the the Russian Revoltion,the emphasis was on a centrical labor socialist oligarchy,with no blue-blood royalist tax restrictions.Under the reforms of Boris Yeltsin ,Russia moved to a more capitalist system ,in which some business gamblers lost everything.Putin has moved Russia back to a more centralised economy and perhaps refining the previous economic blunders of the Soviet Era.This book will help nuture a budding economics thinker by offering more philosophical avenues of free-thought and political choice.

The Rosetta Stone
The Grundrisse is perhaps one of the most important additions to Marxian scholarship in the last fifty years and stands as a true Rosetta Stone for deciphering Marx(ist, ian, oid) thought. Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy stands as a bridge between the early humanist writing such as the Manifesto and the later scientific Marx as seen in the three volumes of Capital.In this text we see the very beginnings of the scientific critique as well as a brilliant display of Marx as the dialectician that forces the astute and serious reader to rethink the engagement between Marx and Hegelian thought.This work has seriously challenged what I thought I knew about Marx and has sent me into a deep reflection on Hegel.This work is a must read for those serious about engaging critically the works of a Karl Marx.

Tough but Worthwhile
A collection of seven notebooks on capital and money, drafted during the winter of 1857-8, exploring the themes and theses that dominate his later writings, including Marx's own version of Hegel's dialectics, and thoughts on alientation.While not as sophisticatedp--or lengthy--as Das Kapital, it remains a "must read" for anyone interested developing a sophisticated understanding of Marxist philosophy.

Critical Reading
Unlike many other works, the Grundrisse exposes in more obvious ways Marx's dialectical thought.The Introduction should really be read as a great antidote to the 1859 Preface to a Critique of Political Economy,which gave us the base-superstructure analogy.The weakest link in Marx'sthough may very well be found there.The Grundrisse Introduction startsfrom the point of view of class struggle, whereas there is no place for theclass struggle as the driving force in the base-superstructureschema.

Also, Grundrisse starts in a different place from Capital.Thereis a reason for this, and a good discussion of this can be found in thewriting of Raya Dunayevskaya and a counter discussion can be found in RomanRosdolsky.The choice to eventually shelve the organization of theGrundrisse for the organization of Capital flows in part from the changesin the intervening years, most notably the U.S. Civil War.

Real lifeconstantly shaped Marx's thinking, hardly fitting the representation wecommonly get of him from ideologues and capital's priests (economists).Asa result, Grundrisse also has serious limitations in its understanding ofthe logic of capital.Basing the entire understanding of Marxism andcapital on Grundrisse leads to the kind of mistakes made by ItalianAutononmist Marxism, esp. Antonio Negri, who find themselves engaged in avery subjectivist understanding of capitalism.A useful, but sympathetic,antidote can be found in Werner Bonefeld and John Holloway's writings.

A classical of marxian economic thought
This book is a sketch of what would become, a couple of years later, the author's masterpiece: Das Kapital. It was written in an intense effort during revolutionary agitations in Europe, such hard work had as goal toshow the inherent contradictions of capitalism and the way it would sooncollapse. Well, capitalism did not collapse then and did not so far, butthis book remains a classic in the critique of classical political economy.It is indded shorter than Das Kapital, and in parts not as mature as, butit has the advantage of providing discussion on themes not discussedelsewhere in marxian works. Thus, the most famous part of Grundrisse areits Introduction and the part on "Pre-capitalistic modes ofproduction". A must for anyone who wish to get acquainted with marxianthought. ... Read more

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Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital during the late industrial revolution, as Europe underwent a wrenching transformation from an agricultural to an industrial economy. In this monumental work, Marx argued that capitalism is both inefficient and immoral, relying upon the exploitation of workers by owners of capital. Many modern ideas about profits, interest, monopoly, and the wastefulness of the business cycle find their roots in the Marxian view of economics.

Great Economic Thinkers is a collection of presentations that explain in understandable language the major ideas of history’s most important economists. Special emphasis is placed on each thinker’s attitude toward capitalism, revealing their influence in today’s debate on economic progress and prosperity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Marx in a capitalist box....
Karl Marx was a visionary futurist, and a decent economist.His work can be compared to that of Darwin, but from the limited perspective of human economics. His work was political, and limited by the perspective that his era provided.He was overly certain about many things on scant evidence, but many of his insights were spot on.His popular slogan, "from each...to each" may yet hold sway, as robots replace toil as the measure of human value.

This treatment was professional, un-ethical, heavy handed and rather sad. It was as objective as a toddler explaining why he hit his sister. This was my first book on Marx, and I feel that the writers bias and filtering of ideas was so clumsy, that any knowledge that I gained was nearly coincidental.

Gare Henderson ... Read more

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Product Description
A shrinkwrapped three-volume set of Marx’s political writings: The key essays and texts on politics and history—including The Communist Manifesto, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, The Class Struggles of France, The Civil War In France and Critique of the Gotha Programme.Karl Marx was not only the great theorist of capitalism, he was also a superb journalist, politician and historian. In these brand-new editions of Marx’s Political Writings we are able to see the depth and range of his mature work from 1848 through to the end of his life, from The Communist Manifesto to The Class Struggles in France and The Critique of the Gotha Programme. Each book has a new introduction from a major contemporary thinker, to shed new light on these vital texts.

Volume 1: The Revolutions of 1848: Marx and Engels had sketched out the principles of scientific communism by 1846. Yet it was from his intense involvement in the abortive German Revolution of 1848 that Marx developed a depth of practical understanding he would draw on in Capital and throughout his later career. This volume includes his great call to arms—The Communist Manifesto—but also shows how tactical alliances with the bourgeoisie failed, after which Marx became firmly committed to independent workers’ organizations and the ideal of “permanent revolution.” The articles offer trenchant analyses of events in France, Poland, Prague, Berlin and Vienna, while speeches set out changing communist tactics. In a new introduction the major socialist feminist writer Sheila Rowbotham examines this period of Marx’s life and how it shaped his political perspective.

Volume 2: Surveys from Exile: In the 1850s and early 1860s Marx played an active part in politics, and his prolific journalism from London offered a constant commentary on all the main developments of the day. During this time Marx began to interpret the British political scene and express his considered views on Germany, Poland and Russia, the Crimean War and American Civil War, imperialism in India and China, and a host of other key issues. The Class Struggles in France develops the theories outlined in The Communist Manifesto into a rich and revealing analysis of contemporary events, while The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte contains equally stimulating reflections on Napoleon III’s coup d’etat of 1851. In a new introduction activist and writer Tariq Ali examines the texts that have become essential works in Marx’s canon.

Volume 3: The First International and After: The crucial texts of Marx’s later years—notably The Civil War in France and Critique of the Gotha Programme—count among his most important work. These articles include a searching analysis of the tragic but inspiring failure of the Paris Commune, as well as essays on German unification, the Irish question, the Polish national movement and the possibility of revolution in Russia. The founding documents of the First international and polemical pieces attacking the disciples of Proudhon and Bakunin and the advocates of reformism, by contrast, reveal a tactical mastery that has influenced revolutionary movements ever since. In a new introduction the renowned Marxist David Harvey sheds light on the evolution of Marx’s notions of democracy and politics. ... Read more

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This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Charles H. Kerr in 1904 in 336 pages; Subjects: Economics; Marxian economics; Business & Economics / Economics / General; Business & Economics / Economics / Theory; Political Science / Political Ideologies / Communism & Socialism; Political Science / Public Policy / Economic Policy; ... Read more

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The complete text of the political tract which has exercised so great an influence on the world in the past century. In a special introduction to this new edition A.J.P. Taylor charts the progress of the Manifesto from persecuted obscurity to global reverence and examines the relevance of Marx's nineteenth-century ideas to the realities of modern politics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

THE GREAT GREAT GRANDDADDY OF MODERN COMMUNISM
Karl Marx is, or at least was when I was young, a historic figure about whom one could not or should not be neutral. Either he was the creator of the `origin sin' of modern communism or he was the father of the scientifically-based struggle for the future progress of humankind. Although the urgency of the need to address his role in history has diminished somewhat with the demise of the Soviet Union and other workers states as factors in world politics Marx still is a figure about which one cannot be neutral.

It was with this thought in mind that I sought out a biography about him for this space. Although the author here, Robert Payne, is hostile to Marxism (and apparently any kind of socialist perspective) and Marx as a historical personality, he does hit the highlights of Marx's career and thus this book can serve as a primer for that purpose. I would note here that as in the case of biographers of other revolutionaries like Cromwell, Robespierre, Lenin and Trotsky Mr. Payne tries to make the case that if Marx had only been satisfied with being a parliamentary bourgeois democrat, or at the most a bourgeoisified social democrat, that all would be well with the world. Of course, their rough and tumble revolutionary edges are what make all of these personalities interesting and why they have had a dramatic affect on the progress, such as it has been, of human history.

As mentioned above, Mr. Payne hits all of the highlights of Marx's career from his first academic fights in the Young Hegelian movement; the struggle for a socialist perspective in the League of the Just culminating in the formation of the Communist League and the publication of the Communist Manifesto; the defeat of the revolutionary wave and the demoralization after the European Revolutions in 1848; the return to scholarly work culminating in the classic work of political economy Das Capital; the emergence of his leadership in the First International and later, after the defeat of the Paris Commune, its demise; the fight to learn the lessons of the Paris Commune and the first stirrings of what a workers state might look like; and, the first steps of the development of the German Social Democratic Party that was to formally adopt his world view.

Mr. Payne also includes the personal highs and lows of Marx's life; the marriage to his beloved Jenny and the rearing of their several children; the periods of grinding poverty and uncertainly that seemingly always comes with the territory of being a revolutionary; the frustrations of practical revolutionary work in non-revolutionary times; the physical and mental torments that plagued his latter years; and the final partial settling down through the financial efforts of his long time friend, comrade and co-thinker Frederich Engels.

One of the problems with dealing with the life of Karl Marx from Mr. Payne's non-Marxian point of view is that it is very hard to see where the man leaves off and the intellectual, theoretican and practical revolutionary begins. Since Marx formed his own school of socialism- scientific socialism based on historical materialism and deriving from the influences of the French revolution, English political economy and German Hegelian philosophy that does present a problem. Rather than beg the point here it would probably be more fruitful to look at Marx's life as a struggle to break out of the losing strategies of previous revolutionary experiences. Although that is a higher standard than he himself might have placed on the value of his work it nevertheless places in the context of his lifetime the very small returns that he received for his wisdom. While Mr. Payne's book can be used as a cautious primer on Marx thoughtful readers will want to look elsewhere, including at Marx's own work, to find out more about his theories.


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The present volume consists of a translation of some of Karl Marx's principal writings during the six years 1844-1850.

In 1843 Marx was twenty-five years old. He had just married, apparently on the strength of the modest salary he was to receive for editing, jointly with Arnold Ruge, a periodical called the _Deutsch-Franzoesische Jahrbuecher_ (_Franco-German Annuals_), the purpose of which was to promote the union of German philosophy with French social science. Only one double-number of this journal appeared in 1844. It contained Marx's criticism of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right and his exposition of the social significance of the Jewish question, in the form of a review of two works by Bruno Bauer.

Translations of both articles are given in this volume.



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Customer Reviews (2)

A very useful overview of two critiques
This book is actually not by Von B?hm-Bawerk himself, as the Amazon list indicates, but a bundle of three translations from German to English by Paul Sweezy, a leading American Marxist scholar.

It starts with Von B?hm-Bawerk's "Zum Abschluss des Marxschen Systems" (a critique of Das Kapital based on the contradiction between Volume I and Volume III).
Subsequently we get "B?hm-Bawerks Marx-Kritik" by Rudolf Hilferding (NOT Kautsky, as the prior reviewer claims!), who gives a point-by-point rebuttal of the first article.
Then to close the work there's a statistical explanation of the transformation problem and Marx's solution to it by the now well-known Russian-Polish German statistician Ladislaus Bortkiewicz. This work is very mathematical and requires a reasonable knowledge of economic mathematics to understand.

All in all Sweezy has done good work to make these texts public for the first time in English, back in the day (1949). These texts, as well as others about the same subject translated for the first time in the English language, led to a revival of interest for the transformation problem and others in Marxist economics.

Why Marx Failed
To tell the truth, all I was able to read of this book is Bohm-Bawerk's Introduction, but that was enough. To get the jist of the Introduction, one must remember that Marx was setting up an Economic Model. Bohm-Bawerkrightly spotted an error in the Marx Model, the Production Function. Thejist of his rebbutal is that just because something is produced is noreason that anyone wants it, case in point being a toothless comb for baldmen. Bohm-Bawerk is really using Menger's Principles to underline Marx'esMistake. The result was the evolution of this discussion into von Mises'esSocialist Calculation Debate.

To tell the truth, the rest of the book isan anticlimax, a lot of SEVERELY THEORETICAL stuff,which eventually boilsdown to a lot of Math and "backwards sixes". Karl Kautsky'srebuttal that Socialist Calculations so not have to follow Capitalistic (orfor that matter, Rational) rules is self-serving. The Botkiewiczshort-paper is ammusing in that it basically says "Here is a quickieMath equation that MIGHT WORK.", was not impressive.

The meat is inthe Introduction. The rest is a hard read, and despite my degree in math, idid not think it worth the effort to continue. I still give it 5 starsbecause of the introduction, and the amusing futile rebuttal by Kautsky& Bortkiewicz. ... Read more